Zitakua

At the top of Cerro de los Metates, in the city of Tepic, Nayarit, is Zitakua, an Indigenous community founded in 1987. Zitakua is mainly inhabited by the Wixárika people, who arrived following the message received in a dream by their Marakame (shaman), who was told to settle on that hill, considered mystical and full of energy in the Wixárika cosmogony, to preserve their ancestral wisdom.  

The film takes an observational approach, sitting patiently across Zitakua, which has become both a cultural and touristic point of reference in the west coast of Mexico. A tension that subtly plays out in the backdrop of the film as it documents how the Wixárika culture has been hyped by tourism, while Zitakua itself remains largely in precarious conditions and its community strives to preserve their culture. The camera brings us closer to daily life events, picturing school life, the activity at the local restaurant where handmade purple corn quesadillas are served, and of course the skilled craftsmanship put out for incoming tourists: handcrafted goods with traditional motifs such as the search for peyote or the region’s fauna (all holding strong ritual and ancestral meanings), alongside unexpected offers the likes of Hello Kitty or some other pop trends that could bring in an extra revenue.  

Through a series of interviews we attest to knowledge being understood as an active relational process that carries over generations, where non-human entities such as plants, animals, and natural forces act as active participants and even guiding spirits. Zitakua is much more than a picturesque barrio, it is a contested site, one in which the spirituality, tradition and identity of the Wixárika people are continuously negotiated through ritual practice, songs, food, art, and spoken language. (Eduardo Thomas)